1. |
Blackleg Miner
02:07
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THE BLACKLEG MINER
1 It's in the evening after dark
When the blackleg miner creeps to work
With his moleskin pants and his dirty shirt
There goes the blackleg miner
2 Well he grabs his duds and down he goes
To hew the coal that lies below
There's not a woman in this town row
Will look at the blackleg miner
3 Oh, Delaval is a terrible place
They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face
And around the heaps they run up a trace
To catch the blackleg miner
4 And divvn't gan near the Seghill mine
Across the way they stretch a line
To catch the throat and break the spine
Of the dirty blackleg miner
5 They grabbed his duds and picks as well
And they hoy them down the pit of Hell
Down you go and fare thee well
You dirty blackleg miner
6 As verse 1
7 So join the Union while you may
Don't wait until your dying day
That may not be so far away
You dirty blackleg miner
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2. |
Colliery Owner's Lament
03:05
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THE COLLIERY OWNER'S LAMENT
1 & 6 Well they say that times are hard for the pitmen
They want guarantees of four and six a day
And if they join the combination
I don't know if I can make the colliery pay
2 We gave them safety lamps for their comfort
But now they claim the workings are too warm
And if they join the combination
I don't know if I can make the colliery pay
3 Hepburn wants an end to the tommy-shop
He's calling for a strike on binding day
And if they join his combination
I don't know if I can make the colliery pay
4 They call for continuous employment
But they can't see the dullness of the trade
And if I get one more corve short-measured
I don't know if I can make the colliery pay
5 Here's a health to the magistrate Fairles
Who quelled the riots in South Shields
Oh, if he'd only stop the combination
I know that I could make the colliery pay
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3. |
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JOBLING'S STORY
V1 I was drinking at Turner's on a Monday afternoon
With my mate, Ralphy Armstrong, we were knocking it doon
There comes a man on horseback: it's the viewer from up the road
He's got no-one riding with him so we'll lighten up his load
C Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob Mister
Give us a bob Mister Foster
Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob
Just one for the road
V2 Well we got a drink off Jack Foster, but the strike was biting hard
There's no money in my pocket, so I walked down by the toll-bar
There comes a man on horseback - it‘s the magistrate abroad
He's got no-one riding with him, so we'll lighten up his load
C Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob Mister
Give us a bob Mister Fairless
Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob
Just one for the road
B. When I was cadging from Fairless
Up comes Armstrong from behind
He's shattered the judge with stick and stone
Left him dying by the road
C Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob Mister
Give us a bob Mister Fairless
Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob
Just one for the road
V3 I went into hiding on that Monday afternoon
I was sick to my stomach and I paced about the room
There comes a man on horseback - it looks like a man of the law
He’s got others riding with him, come to lift my heavy load
C Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob Mister
Give us a bob Mister Fairless
Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob
Just one for the road
B. When I was cadging from Fairless
Up comes Armstrong from behind
He's shattered the judge with stick and stone
Left him dying by the road
C Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob Mister
Give us a bob Mister Fairless
Give us a bob Mister, give us a bob - Just one for the road
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4. |
Willy
03:15
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WILLY
1 They brought you down in chains today
A knife turned in my side
Brought tears and painful memories
I loved you more than life itself
You are my joy and pride
Willy, will I ever see you free
C Oh Willy, oh Willy, how came we to this cruel and fateful day?
Oh Willy, oh Willy, was it wrong for you to strike for higher pay?
2 I was a girl of seventeen
When you came a-courting me
My heart thumped as you walked by my side
You were handsome, young and strong
The best lad in the row
I loved you, and you took me for your bride
C Oh Willy, oh Willy, how came we to this cruel and fateful day?
Oh Willy, oh Willy, was it wrong for you to strike for higher pay?
3 Through winter's touch and summer's kiss
You laboured in the mines
We lived alright, though money it was scarce
You worked as hard as e'er you could
To give us food and clothes
But the greedy mine-owner made you curse
C Oh Willy, oh Willy, how came we to this cruel and fateful day?
Oh Willy, oh Willy, why did you have to strike for higher pay?
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5. |
Trial of the Pitman
03:11
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THE TRIAL OF THE PITMAN
1 & 2 Did you hear of the trial of the pitman
On Wednesday, August the First?
He defended hisself at Durham Court
He didn't have a hope
3 They know that Ralph Armstrong was guilty
But he's headed back to the sea
William Jobling was his accomplice
He didn't help Fairless at all
4 Judge Parke didn't take long to sentence
He said "on Friday, August the Third
You'll be hung as an example
To workmen of your trade"
C His body was covered in pitch
And rivetted into a cage
Hung from a gibbet in Jarrow Slake
Take a warning from his fate
5 There was a crowd of twenty thousand
On Friday, August the Third
The clergy were in attendance
But no confession could be obtained
C His body was covered in pitch
And rivetted into a cage
Hung from a gibbet in Jarrow Slake
Take a warning from his fate
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6. |
Cut Jobling Down
04:00
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CUT JOBLING DOWN
1 He was taken from the scaffold and his clothes were removed
His body was covered in pitch
His clothes were put back on, and using iron bars
He was rivetted into his cage
C They've got to cut Jobling down They've got to cut Jobling down
2 His feet were placed in stirrups, there were iron bars
From the stirrups to the side of his head There were bars at his ankles, his knees and his thighs
And a ring held the gibbet in place
3 He was pulled by two horses in a four-wheeled wagon Escorted by a troup of hussars
Two companies of soldiers held the crowds at bay
As the gibbet was hoisted on the Slake
4 At the time of the hanging a rumour spread around That the miners would come to cut him down
But with the threat of transportation for seven long years
Not one found their way past the guards
5 His silhouette was visible by day and by night
To his widow living down by the Slake
Crowds came from miles, he was popular on Sundays
But no-one came to claim his body back
6 After three weeks and four days the guards went away
And his body was stolen that night
Was he buried in his irons in St. Paul's hallowed ground
Or was he sunk in the Tyne for all time?
Hey, they've cut Jobling down
Hey, they've cut Jobling down
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Steve Gray Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
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